iOS and Android still lead the pack when it comes to luring mobile developers …

iOS and Android still lead the pack when it comes to luring mobile developers, but Windows Phone has solidified its status as the third most attractive smartphone OS ahead of BlackBerry, according to a new survey by IDC and mobile app development vendor Appcelerator. Not surprisingly, 91 percent of developers are "very interested" in developing for the iPhone and 83 percent are very interested in developing for Android phones. Windows Phone, by comparison, merits that level of attention from just 38 percent of survey respondents. But that is a rise of 8 percentage points since June and, coupled with RIM dropping 7 points to 21 percent, Windows is now the clear third choice.

"When asked why developers are more interested in Windows Phone 7 now than a year ago, a plurality (48 percent) said it was the Microsoft/Nokia partnership," the IDC/Appcelerator report states. "Nokia also received high marks from its new Lumia Windows Phone 7 smartphone announcement last month, with 28 percent of developers saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for the device."

The IDC/Appcelerator survey queried 2,160 developers who use Appcelerator's development platform. Because the survey is limited to Appcelerator users, the results may not be indicative of the entire mobile development community. Still, the survey is conducted four times a year and can illustrate shifting development priorities. The huge numbers posted by iPhone and Android were unchanged from the previous survey, suggesting that developers having success with the major platforms are looking to add a new one to their arsenals, perhaps to replace lost interest in BlackBerry.

We noted back in May that Microsoft is trying to entice iOS developers by releasing "a guide to help iOS developers translate from iOS APIs to Windows Phone ones, a development guide specifically for iOS developers, and first-hand accounts on porting iPhone applications to Windows Phones." While that effort may be showing fruit, there is still much room for improvement. The Windows Phone marketplace has about 38,000 applications, while the iPhone store has more than a half-million. In terms of device sales, Windows Phone is still far behind iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

Additionally, Windows Phone itself is garnering much less interest than HTML5 mobile Web applications, as 66 percent of surveyed developers reported high interest in developing HTML5 apps, unchanged from the previous survey. The survey also took a look at various tablets and other mobile OSes. For example, the iPad has high interest from 88 percent of developers; Android tablets from 68 percent; BlackBerry PlayBook 13 percent; the HP Touchpad 9 percent; Symbian devices 7 percent; webOS phones 6 percent; and MeeGo 5 percent.

Percentage of developers who are "very interested" in building for each platform

IDC and Appcelerator also gauged developer interest in the Kindle Fire. "Findings reveal that Amazon’s new Kindle Fire edged Samsung Galaxy Tab as the number one most popular Android Tablet in North America, on par with interest for the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010, and second only to the Galaxy Tab globally with developers," Appcelerator said.

Worldwide, 56 percent of developers reported interest in the Galaxy Tab, compared to 43 percent in the Kindle Fire, and 17 percent for the Barnes & Noble Nook platform. In North America, however, the Kindle Fire leads the Galaxy Tab 49 percent to 48 percent, and that is just shy of the 53 percent score the iPad gained just prior to its launch last year. The Kindle Fire is US-only at launch.

One of the things WP desperately needs is developers. But I'm inclined to think they aren't going to show up with WP7/7.5.

I expect a huge boom with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 - Microsoft needs to help developers writing apps for the Windows 8 tablet platform to port the same core pieces to WP and make phone apps just a little extra effort rather than a whole new venture. WP might just have to struggle for the time being, but if they can put Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 on the same development systems its likely to help acceptance greatly.

As someone who works in an organization that still forces RIM/BB because they're afraid of Apple/Android, I look forward to Windows 8/WP8 as the savior for mobile app development. Even if its not the best platform, its hard for IT to justify saying no to Microsoft.

I'm all for more apps, and for WP7 succeeding, but more apps for the sake of more apps is scary.

My anecdote: I only use about 10 apps consistently, made an effort to find around 50, and "have" around 300 -- mostly thanks to amazons free app of the day.

Once you get past core services and truly fun games, there's just a bunch of fatigue inducing cruft keeping you from discovering those good things.

edit to add: There are a few services that still don't have native WP7 apps, which is why I think a lot of people feel the marketplace is devoid of anything useful. Skype and Pandora to call out a few (one will obviously be provided soonish).

One of the things WP desperately needs is developers. But I'm inclined to think they aren't going to show up with WP7/7.5.

I expect a huge boom with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 - Microsoft needs to help developers writing apps for the Windows 8 tablet platform to port the same core pieces to WP and make phone apps just a little extra effort rather than a whole new venture. WP might just have to struggle for the time being, but if they can put Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 on the same development systems its likely to help acceptance greatly.

As someone who works in an organization that still forces RIM/BB because they're afraid of Apple/Android, I look forward to Windows 8/WP8 as the savior for mobile app development. Even if its not the best platform, its hard for IT to justify saying no to Microsoft.

I beg to differ.There was plenty of data showing there are many developers either already working or planning to on WP. Microsoft has enough PC developers and the best development tools and environment, and makes it easy enough both for new developers and for developers transitioning from PC or from other mobile platforms. What it desperately needs is users, which have yet to embrace the platform in any truly significant numbers.

On the note of organizations: I agree that would likely be no justification for IT to turn down WP, should it prove to work well with the rest of Microsoft's products (I don't own a WP and can't attest to that, but it seems a given).Also, given Android's rising popularity and new security improvements (see ICS highlights: http://developer.android.com/sdk/androi ... ights.html), I think more IT departments would open up to that as well.

Anyone notice the bar is not aligned properly? it looks like each line represent 10% except for Android Tablet (which look more like mid 70%) and HTML5 (which looks like low 70%).. The bar for WP7 seems to be slightly off as well.

Developer's interest doesn't equal apps, and it certainly doesn't equal sales or platform adoption by the public. I fail to see what the MS/Nokia partnership does to further WP7 adoption, a handful of other manufacturers (HTC, Samsung, LG) have been making compelling WP7 devices that are on the market now, and that hasn't brought forth the revolution.

MS is holding the hardware back with their requirements as well. Now that Android has been on qHD and now moving to 720p, and the iphone has been on 960x640 for over a year, the WVGA screens of WP7 seem like a 2010 throwback. People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

What I would be interested in is a toolchain that will allow me to write common code that targets Android, iOS and Win7 in one go. I'm willing to write decorators (i.e. the UI) in the platform specific language, but I really, really, really don't want to re-write the business logic of my app every time I want to develop for a new platform.

It's been a while since I looked, but it looks like XMLVM is the only player in this space -- but it only produces code for iOS and Android. Is there anything that genericizes across WP7 as well?

What I would be interested in is a toolchain that will allow me to write common code that targets Android, iOS and Win7 in one go. I'm willing to write decorators (i.e. the UI) in the platform specific language, but I really, really, really don't want to re-write the business logic of my app every time I want to develop for a new platform.

It's been a while since I looked, but it looks like XMLVM is the only player in this space -- but it only produces code for iOS and Android. Is there anything that genericizes across WP7 as well?

There are a number of players in this field. Appcelerator, Sensa Touch, Phonegap, etc all allow you to write programs that target multiple OSes.

So LG left for Android, Motorola left for Android, Verizon left for Android, Ericsson left for Android, Sendo sued Microsoft, their major shareholder (Microsoft countersued). Sendo was unable to deliver a product on time and didn't get the cash injection it needed from Microsoft to survive so they folded (what a surprise, not giving money to the company you part own who sued you) and Microsoft did actually make Office Mobile for Symbian (along with a version of Silverlight) but Nokia dropped it.

Microsoft stuck to everything, the only problem was that they were trying to ship a shitty phone OS that no one wanted to buy so their partners abandoned them. I wish people would stop linking to this biased crap like Microsoft is all the evil in the world. They're huge and they make partnerships because they're huge, but they did little past make a cruddy OS, one that was still good for the time, it just never innovated. But HTC built themselves off WinMo.

As a WP7 owner, this pleases me. Oddly enough, I hope they stay third as I seem to like MS better when they're behind. Now, a profitable third for them and all their partners, but third none the less.

Wow what a spin this is.WP7 has the lowest interest of any phone OS that is not dead.RIM is coming out with a new OS for phones but it is only shipping on the Playbook which is not selling well. And this is just interest in not actively developing for. The fact that this is being shown as something positive is absolutely hysterical.

People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

True. Microsoft/Nokia might be gunning for people who don't have a smartphone yet. And those people don't care for the latest in hardware. In that respect, the Lumia 710 might be more successful than the Lumia 800. And isn't the Lumia 710 about the same price as the current iPhone 3GS? Compared to the iPhone 3, the Lumia has nice hardware. But fewer apps of course.

At this point it's the hardware gap that is making wp7.5 lose interest for me. If I'm going to shell out for a new device it is damn well going to be top notch hardware and right now that rules out wp7

I'm still happy with my HTC 7 Trophy. It's one of those boring ugly black slabs of plastic with less than impressive specs but it works and it works fast. Also no sharpish corners like with the Lumia 800 and I got it really cheap early this year. Don't care much for apps but it works very well with Exchange which is more important for me than apps. The camera is really nice if you like blurry pics... I really hope Windows Phone becomes a success because both Android and iOS look like Fisherprice to me.

The fact that this is being shown as something positive is absolutely hysterical.

What is? The fact that it gained 8% over the last 3 months (a 25% increase)? That a platform with an apparent 2% of the market collects strong interest from 38% of developers (as opposed to Blackberry, with a much larger marketshare and a much smaller interest, despite their new OS)?

Clearly, 38% is not good compared to the platforms which own 30-50% of the market.

I'm actually the most surprised that so many developers are still prioritising iOS - a closed, one manufacturer only OS, whose market share can only decline.

No one writes a program for where the market will be in 12 months. Right now the best return on an app comes from Apple's store, not Android (despite the larger base in the phone section. Tablet section is all Apple). You release and hope to sell a whole lot on release then develop if it's picked up. If it sells well on iDevices now, port it to Android, then to the web, then to WP7, then to Bada/QNX/Symbian/giraffes/whatever.

Since you have to get a mobile device through a carrier, and the carriers (at least in the US) could care less about Windows Phone, it is always going to be an up hill battle. If you go into any carrier store, there are very prominent displays for Android and iPhone, and Windows Phone is over somewhere in the corner, most likely a dummy non working unit. If you say you want one, the rep will look at you funny and try to sell you an android or iPhone instead...

No one writes a program for where the market will be in 12 months. Right now the best return on an app comes from Apple's store, not Android (despite the larger base in the phone section. Tablet section is all Apple). You release and hope to sell a whole lot on release then develop if it's picked up. If it sells well on iDevices now, port it to Android, then to the web, then to WP7, then to Bada/QNX/Symbian/giraffes/whatever.

theoretically you'd want to write a program for where the market will be when the program is released. the trick, obviously, is figuring out what the market will look like in the future. (that's where a good multiplatform SDK would come in real handy for risk mitigation)

Developer's interest doesn't equal apps, and it certainly doesn't equal sales or platform adoption by the public. I fail to see what the MS/Nokia partnership does to further WP7 adoption, a handful of other manufacturers (HTC, Samsung, LG) have been making compelling WP7 devices that are on the market now, and that hasn't brought forth the revolution.

MS is holding the hardware back with their requirements as well. Now that Android has been on qHD and now moving to 720p, and the iphone has been on 960x640 for over a year, the WVGA screens of WP7 seem like a 2010 throwback. People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

How about the fact that the Lumia 800 has the been the top selling phone for 3 weeks over at Phone House France?

Developer's interest doesn't equal apps, and it certainly doesn't equal sales or platform adoption by the public. I fail to see what the MS/Nokia partnership does to further WP7 adoption, a handful of other manufacturers (HTC, Samsung, LG) have been making compelling WP7 devices that are on the market now, and that hasn't brought forth the revolution.

MS is holding the hardware back with their requirements as well. Now that Android has been on qHD and now moving to 720p, and the iphone has been on 960x640 for over a year, the WVGA screens of WP7 seem like a 2010 throwback. People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

How about the fact that the Lumia 800 has the been the top selling phone for 3 weeks over at Phone House France?

Face it, the majority of Nokia's user base used Nokia because they were Nokia phones, not because they ran Symbian. Because they knew they could count on a certain price and level of reliability.

Wait a minute....is that a Bada phone in the top 5? Surely this represents the cellphone market at large.

I held a candle for Nokia for a few years, but I had reliability issues (e50 and N82 were my last Nokias), and Nokia always seemed to command a premium cost. I'm not sure why anyone would feel any allegiance toward them.

People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

Those hoping to run the latest OS after a year or a few days are going to stick with iOS.

Actually, as far as I can tell, serious hardware enthusiasts simply buy a new Android phone once or twice a year. Then there's not much issue with getting the latest OS.

Other Android enthusiasts use Cyanogen as a way to get new releases quickly.

Personally, I'm still on Froyo and don't feel like I'm missing much, since all the new apps still run fine. Android has been much easier to live with and forget about than I was afraid it might be when I got my phone.

But if Apple ever decides to make a phone with a physical keyboard, I'd certainly be willing to revisit the issue. I'd have to decide whether I want to jailbreak the phone or not though, because I like being able to code on-device in Python using SL4A, something that doesn't require rooting on Android.

People who are after the latest in hardware are going to stick with Android.

Those hoping to run the latest OS after a year or a few days are going to stick with iOS.

Actually, as far as I can tell, serious hardware enthusiasts simply buy a new Android phone once or twice a year. Then there's not much issue with getting the latest OS.

Other Android enthusiasts use Cyanogen as a way to get new releases quickly.

Personally, I'm still on Froyo and don't feel like I'm missing much, since all the new apps still run fine. Android has been much easier to live with and forget about than I was afraid it might be when I got my phone.

But if Apple ever decides to make a phone with a physical keyboard, I'd certainly be willing to revisit the issue. I'd have to decide whether I want to jailbreak the phone or not though, because I like being able to code on-device in Python using SL4A, something that doesn't require rooting on Android.

Actually when you tally the phones and major updates btw android and iOS, they are the same. Google just develops twice as fast; same with the hardware.